Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1887-02-09
THE WORLDS CENTER.
An Interesting Tale Told by the Brah-
minis ofthe City of Delhi.

About seven hundred miles northeast.
| OF Bombay, and about the same distance
northwest of Calcutta, stands the an
cient aud very important city of Delhi,
the former metropolis Of the Great Mo-
gul. Its walls, gates, palaces, tombs
and other great works, are wonderful
for size and for beauty of architecture,
and would require large book tlor-
oughly to describe them, while the his
tory of the great city, which once con-
tanned two millions of inhabitants would
almost form library. Not many miles
from DELHI stands an enormous tall
tower, but by whom that tower was
built, and for what purpose. no one can
tell. The Brahmins say, however, that
it marks the center of the world, and
the story they tell about 1t is this:
Once upon a time a certain King Of
Delhi, being anxious TO reign long and
to leave his throne to his family, and
being disturbed by doubts about il,
called a council OF pious Brahmins, who
informed him that Just under where
they were IN consultation, and Just
where the great tower, called Kootub,
now sands, was the head Of the great
serpe I which supported the world.
MOI" they said, ''if the King will
drive down great iron into the earth,
at that spot. IN such a way as to trans
fix the head OF the great serpent, he
may be sure that he wonld reign long, g,
and his children after him." The King
made the great iron and the tower. and
drove down into the earth and trans
lxed the serpent's heai-or at least the
Brahmins told him that he had: but
doubling the word of these aoly men,
and wishing to see for himself that such
was TIE case, he had the iron pillar
pulled up again. Lo, and behold, it
was covered with blood; showing that
the holy men had been right; but, un-
fortunately, when he wanted to drive il
down again, the animal very senslbly
got out OF the way, and very shortly
afterwards the King was bsset by enc
mics and lest no. only his throne but his
head. THIS signal confirmation of the
Brahmin's story cause the !tives to
believe that the head OF the great SER
pent is still there, supporting the world,
although, as they say, it may not be
e.rdctly under the tower since the at
tempt of the King transtix it second
time.
Not far from this wonderful tower is
wonderful well. 1t is about thirty
feet square and one hundred and twenty
deep, and generally contains about forty
feet Of water. In addition to its use
for drinking purposes, the natives make
another use of this huge well whenever
there are visitors attracted by the fame
of the tower which is the center of the
world. To Jump from the top into the
darkness of the pool, eighty feet below,
would be like leaping from six-story
house. and would appear 70 be certain
death. Yet the HIndooS of the village
close by Will make the Jump for very
few pence. A dozen men and boys,
with nothing on but the very smallest
waist-cloth, will stand upon the curb
stone, ready to jump.
An old gray-headed fellow will bal
ance himself, and then leap. For the
first fifty fee5 or SO he extends his arms
and legs widely, then he brings his feet
close together, puts his hands close to
his side, and strikes the water with a
crash which echoes up the stony sides as
his head disappears in the inky looking
pool. You think he is gone! But no
in an instant his gray head appears, he
swimS to the wall, climbs up the side 10
square hole which leads to a reservoir,
and is at the top again in moment, to
claim his half rupee.
Next, perhaps, jumps his grandson,
a naked imp of nine or ten. You shud-
der because the little fellow appears to
have jumped too far, and to be in dan
ger of striking the stone-work. But mol
He misses the rocky side by less than a
yard, arranges his feet and hands just
as his grandsire did, and falls like stone
IN the water. You wait long time
ons minute, two minuteS-but the little
round, bare pate does not appear. Will
they make no effort TO save him? Is
the boy drowned1 Not bit of I'll In
another moment, the grinning imp,
dripping with water, is by your side.
1t turns out there Is in the well another
communication with the reservoir, un-
der the water, and to this the boy has
dived, and thus come out; the silence
and pretended alarm of those at the top
being only another trick to excite SYM
pathy and extract more money. Then,
as fast as possible, the whole lot will
begin to jump, pell-mell, on the top OF
each other almost, through the openings,
up again, and down again-as long
as there Is q chance of extracting any
coin from the strangers.
The village people do not sem to
think the water at all spoiled for drink
purposes by being thus turned into a
bathing-pool.
The name Of Colorado Is derived
from tho SnanIsh and denoted a